


Phone Calls

by Jaegerprince



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Coming Out, Crying, Fluff, M/M, hurt comfort, supportive family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-22 23:26:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13177443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jaegerprince/pseuds/Jaegerprince
Summary: I spent two days thinking about my own post and then this fell out of my head.Family is hard, sometimes it still turns out ok.





	Phone Calls

**Author's Note:**

> Hey Y'all, 
> 
> Hope you enjoy! mostly Jacks point of view because why not?

“Oh baby, please don’t worry about it. Mr. Norton isn’t going to be pressing charges and your daddy isn’t hurt.” Suzanne’s voice is tinny coming from the speaker of Bittys phone, but Jack can hear the stress and can imagine she has the same strained look that his boyfriend has written across his face. 

He brings Bits’ hand up to his mouth and presses a kiss to each of his knuckles.  
Bitty slumps against him and Jack sighs in relief, 30 minutes ago when they had first seen the video of Bitty’s father assaulting some neighbor in a grocery store Bitty hadn’t wanted to be touched. And it had been agony watching his boyfriend suffer being unable to provide any comfort.

“But Mama I-“ Jack can feel Bitty shaking, and carefully wraps an arm around him, giving him ample opportunity to move away if he still wasn’t comfortable.  
Jack loses track of the conversation, he keeps running one hand along Bitty’s arm and the other in his vice-like grip. 

Suddenly there was another voice on the other end of the line.  
Jacks heart clenches painfully as Bitty’s whole body goes rigged next to him.

“is that him?” Coach asks, too far away from the receiver for Jack to really be able to read any sort of tone. 

“Yes, but I don’t know if now is the best-“ She starts only to be cut off.  
“Give me the phone, Suzanne.” Coach demands, and Bitty all but slides into Jacks lap, tears silently streaming down his pale face. 

The phone is catching a few syllables of a brisk conversation, and Jack assumes that Suzanne must have turned the receiver away.

He takes the moment to help settle Bits into his lap and press a kiss to the top of his head. 

“I’ve got you, bud.” He murmurs against his soft blond hair. “I’ve got you. I love you” 

Taking a shaking breath Bitty turns his head and hides his face against Jacks collarbone. Unable to do much else, Jack rubs Bitty’s back, while keeping up a quiet stream of reassurances. 

Bitty goes still again when the phone crackles.

“Dickey, your father want’s to talk to you,” Suzanne says 

Jack and Bitty both hold their breath as the phone is passed off. 

For a heart-wrenching moment, there is just silence.

After a few coughs and false starts Coach finally clears his throat and when he speaks, his voice has a wobble to it that Jack wouldn’t have thought possible from the man he had met the summer before.

“Eric, are you there?” he asks almost nervously.  
Bitty has his eyes closed tight, and a white-knuckle grip on the fabric of Jacks shirt, but when he says “Yes, Sir” his voice is firm.

“Son” He starts, and then pauses as if thinking very carefully about what he wants to say next “I’m so sorry if I ever made you feel like you aren’t safe here.”

Curling in on himself, Bitty stares at the phone. eyes wide and uncertain. 

“and I never thought that- I just want you to be happy, son.”  
Bitty opens his mouth to say something and instead catches the end of a sob, and Jack can feel the sound of it pressing on his eardrums like it’s a physical force.

“You are my son,” Coach says fiercely “you are my son and I love you. All I want is for you to be happy.”

It feels as though the whole world has closed down to just revolve around the sound of Bitty’s quiet sobs and his own rushing pulse.

“Does he make you happy, Son?” The coach asks seriously. 

After taking a few breaths Bitty smiles brightly, face still wet with tears, and Jack’s heart lurches.

“More than I ever thought possible, Daddy.”

There’s a catch of breath from the other end of the line and something that sounds like someone rubbing their eyes.

“That’s good, son. I’m so happy for you.”

They let that hang for a moment. Bitty, still crying but his smile is so bright that it almost hurts to look at. 

Jack can’t let go of him.

Bitty buries his face again and he stays there breathing softly. Jack can feel him falling asleep, the adrenaline of the last hour completely draining out of him at once. 

“Zimmermann are you there?” Coach asks carefully. 

Jack hums quietly, hand brushing against the back of Bitty’s head. “Yes, sir. I think Bits is asleep, though.”

There’s a soft huff of laughter from the phone and Jack has to suppress his own when he feels Bitty’s nose wrinkle in distaste, but his eyes stay closed. 

“So, Suzanne and I were thinking of flying out sometime next week, if that’s something you would think would be ok.” Coach askes, almost hesitantly.

“I think that would be great,” Jack says, gently untangling Bitty from the iron grip he has on Jacks shirt so he can start the process of moving them somewhere they can take a decent nap.

For a while longer they discuss the plan for the Bittles to fly in, Jack offers the guest bedroom but in the end, they decide on a hotel that’s only a 15-minute drive from the apartment. 

Jack was just about to bid a goodnight when Coach clears his throat. 

“I just have one last thing I want to say to you,” Coach says forcefully. “Listen, Jack. Eric-he’s old enough he can go and make his own decisions,” jack tenses, waiting for the other shoe to drop. “but He- that’s my boy you got there. My baby boy. And if-“

“I love him, I didn’t even know that I could love as much as I love him.”

“Good answer, Jack,” Rick says warmly. “I suppose I’ll let you get on with your night then”

They were just about to hang up when Coach suddenly says, “Oh, and before I forget. Congratulations on that Cup win, son. That last goal was a work of art.”

Smiling, Jack stands slowly, Pulling Bitty up with him so his head is resting against his shoulder. 

“Thank you, but honestly Sir,” he says glancing down at Bitty, sleep soft and quiet snores, still holding onto his arm even in sleep “between you and me, it’s the second best thing that has happened to me this week.”

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry if you hated it
> 
> Hit me up at Boopthemanbooster on tumblr if you want to chat.


End file.
